Phil Davis: “I trust the judges when I win and I trust them when I lose.”

When the final second ticked off the clock in last night’s UFC 163 co-headliner between light heavyweights Lyoto Machida and Phil Davis it seemed fairly apparent “The Dragon” was about to notch another win. Machida was able to stuff the majority of Davis’ takedown attempts and land strikes throughout, plus the clash was in the Brazilian’s proverbial backyard just in case there were any lingering doubts. Unfortunately, as is too often the case in Mixed Martial Arts, the judges turned heads with a result few saw coming.

With the decision nod going to Davis seemingly based on the limited number of times he put Machida on the mat, fans were once again left wondering what the scoring criteria actually is when it comes to determining winners on MMA’s biggest stage.

Davis, however, was not.

“I think I definitely did enough. I trust the judges when I win and I trust them when I lose,” said Davis to Fuel TV after the match-up, admitting, “It was a close fight.”

Though “Mr. Wonderful” isn’t sure where the performance puts him in terms of contendership, the 12-1 Davis definitely wants a crack at the championship at some point down the road even it comes against teammate Alexander Gustafsson (who fights title-holder Jon Jones next month).

“Yes,” responded Davis when asked if he’d fight the streaking Swede. “We discussed this. We have the attitude that iron sharpens iron. I helped him with his wrestling and he’s helped me with my overall game.”

The 28-year old’s win over Machida marked his third straight instance of success. He also owns past victories against Gustafsson, Tim Boetsch, Brian Stann, and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

I thought it was a close fight and Machida definitely had no answer for Davis when the ground. But overall, I saw the fight for Machida if only by a hair.

What’s next for Davis, I don’t know. Rashad whooped him, he’s already beat Lil’ Nog, Glover is fighting Bader, Jones is fighting Gus, Hendo is on a two fight losing streak and Rua is fighting Chael. The only guy left in the top 10 is Mousasi and he keeps talking of going to MW.

Maybe give him Thiago Silva? Or if they don’t want to reward Silva, how bout Jimmo just to keep Mr. Wonderful busy until he can fight for the title.